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The  Golden  West 


SOUVENIR 

RESPECTFULLY  DEDICATED 

TO  THE  NATIVE  SONS  AND 

NATIVE    DAUGHTERS 

OF  THE  STATE 


PRIMITIVE  YEARS  IN  CALIFORNIA 


J.  ALEXANDER  FORBES 

Formerly  Keeper  of  the  Spanish  and  Mexican  Archives 

in  the  Office  of  the  U.  S.  Surveyor  General  for  the 

District  of  California,  and  Government 

Translator  from  1877  to  1892 


Copyright,  1919 
By  J.  Alexander  Forbet 


Los  Angeles  Public  Library- 
May  7, 1913. 

Me.  J.  Alexander  Forbes, 
Guadalajara, 

State  of  Jalisco, 
Mexico. 

Dear  Sir: 

We  are  very  glad  to  furnish  you  with  the 
enclosed  copy  of  your  biography  from  Davis' 
Sixties  in  California.  "We  also  enclose  copy 
of  your  biography  which  appears  in  the  His- 
tory of  the  Bay  of  San  Francisco,  Vol.  1, 
page  574. 

Very  truly  yours, 
Everett  R.  Perry, 

Librarian. 

Extract  from  Davis'  Sixty  Years  in  Cali- 
fornia, page  603: 

"I  am  indebted  to  Mr.  James  Alexander 
Forbes  for  the  following  list  of  arrivals  of 
vessels  at  California  ports  from  the  year 
1774  to  1847. 

"Mr.  Forbes  has  been  for  many  years 
past,  official  government  translator  and  keep- 
er of  the  Spanish  and  Mexican  archives  in  the 
United  States  Surveyor  General's  office  for 
the  District  of  California,  and  without  his 
aid  I  could  not  have  obtained  any  data  con- 
cerning the  earlier  shipping. 


3038681 


6  'I'm:  <ioi.i>i:.\  Wl 

' '  He  is  the  son  of  the  well  known  pioneer, 
James  A.  Forbes,  who  during  his  lifetime  was 
esteemed  and  respected  by  all  who  had  social 
and  business  relations  with  him.  J.  A. 
Forbes,  Jr.  was  educated  in  Santa  Clara  Col- 

and,  being  a  master  of  several  Languages, 
obtained  the  position  of  official  translator  of 
the  laws  of  California  during  the  years  1867, 
L868,  L869  and  L870.  11*'  has  the  reputation 
of  being  the  most  accurate  translator  and 
fluent  interpreter  in  the  state." 

A    true   copy   of   the   biography  of  Mr. 
James   Alexander  Forbes   as   it   appears  in 
Davis'  Sixty  Fears  in  California,  page  603. 
I  Signed  I     Evbeett  R.  Pebbi  . 

Librarian  Los  Angeles  Public  Library. 

Extracl  taken  from  the  History  of  the 
Bay  of  San  Francisco,  Vol.  1.  page  574, 
Biography  of  James  Alexander  Forbes: 

".I.  Alexander  Forbes,  government  trans- 
lator and  keeper  of  government  archives,  was 
born  in  Santa  Clara  county,  this  State,  March 
17.  L838,  and  is  a  descendant  of  one  of  the  old 
and  influential  families  of  this  State.  His 
lather  was  J.  Alexander  Forbes,  and  was  a 
native  of  Scotland. 

"He  married  Miss  Ana  Maria  Galindo, 
daughter  of  Don  Juan  C.  Galindo,  a  wealthy 
and  highly  respected  citizen  of  Santa  Clara 
Mission.  Mr.  Forbes,  Jr.,  was  reared  in  the 
above   named   county.     Mis  early  education 


The  Golden  West  7 

was  received  at  home  from  a  private  in- 
structor. Later  he  became  a  pupil  in  Santa 
Clara  College,  being  one  of  the  first  to  com- 
plete his  collegiate  course  in  1857.  Following 
this  he  became  interested  in  mining  in  the 
southern  part  of  the  State,  and  also  took 
charge  of  the  public  schools  of  Santa  Barbara 
for  a  year. 

"In  1867  he  came  to  San  Francisco  and 
taught  in  the  Catholic  Schools  there,  also  in 
Martinez,  Contra  Costa  county.  He  then 
went  to  Sacramento  where  he  obtained  a  po- 
sition translating  the  Statutes  of  1867-8  for 
the  Government,  also  the  official  reports  and 
government  affidavits  of  1869-70.  He  next 
established  an  office  in  San  Francisco  and  be- 
came official  court  interpreter  until  1878  when 
he  took  his  present  position.  By  those  in  a 
position  to  judge,  Mr.  Forbes  is  said  to  be 
the  best  Spanish  scholar  and  most  accurate 
interpreter  on  the  Coast." 

(A  true  copy  of  the  Biography  of  J.  Alex- 
ander Forbes  which  appears  in  the  History 
of  the  Bav  of  San  Francisco,  Vol.  1,  page 
574.) 

(Signed)     Everett  R.  Perry, 
Librarian,  Los  Angeles  Public  Library. 

Note:  After  the  publication  of  the  above 
named  histories,  Mr.  J.  Alexander  Forbes 
was  appointed  by  President  Harrison,  to  the 
position  of  United  States  Consul  for  Ghiay- 


Tin;  ( lOLDEN  Wl 

mas,  Sonora,  Mexico,  on  the  23rd  day  of 
August,  L892,  and  his  name  as  such  must  ap- 
pear in  the  Consular  Register  for  Baid  year 
in    the    State    Department    at    Washington, 

D  l  . 

••\-  a  teacher  of  languages  he  lias  no 
equal.  .Mr.  Forbes  lias  a  system  of  his  own 
to  teach  the  English  and  the  Spanish  lan- 
guages  ami  i<  considered  t<>  be  the  best 
teacher  of  these  languages  that  has  ever  been 

known   in  the  State  <>f  Jalisco.   Mexico." 
Guadalajara.  January  17.  l!»14. 
Carlos  F.  Michel. 


Calif 


ornia 


Etymology  of  the  name  of  California  ac- 
cording to  a  Jesuit  writer,  Don  Jose  Campoi : 

We  are  informed  by  the  Spanish  historian, 
Bernal  del  Castillo,  that  when  Hernan  Cortez 
discovered  his  new-found  country  he  gave  it 
the  name  of  the  bay  in  which  he  landed  in 
1536. 

Don  Jose  Campoi  states  that  the  said  bay 
was  San  Lucas,  which  in  Spanish  is  called 
"Cala"  (open  roadstead)  and  that  in  the 
south  end  of  said  roadstead  is  an  immense 
arch  through  which  large  schooners  can  pass 
even  to  this  day.  This  arch  in  Latin  is  called 
"Forniax"  and  Cortez  called  his  country  as 
that  of  "Cala"  aud  Arch  "Forniax." 

Or 
Cala   (Eoadstead) 

i  (and) 
Forniax  (Arch) 

making  the  entire  name  CALIFORNIAX. 

By  constant  use  and  for  the  sake  of 
euphony  the  "X"  was  suppressed  and  an 
"S"  used  instead,  the  same  as  in  the  words, 
"Mejico"  for  "Mexico,"  "Jalisco"  for  "Ja- 
lixco,"  "Tlascala"  for  "Tlaxcala,"  etc. 

In  the  ancient  Spanish  archives  the  coun- 
try was  always  called  "  Calif ornias"  and 
never  "California"  unless  it  was  to  distin- 


10  The  Gulden  West 

guish  the  south  Prom  the  northern  portion. 
The  Mexican  Governmenl  lias  always  desig- 
nated the  country  as  the  Department  of  Cali- 
fornias  and  nol  ( lalifornia. 

In  Bupport  of  the  above  theory  the  Bay 
of  San  Lucas  still  exists  as  well  as  the  im- 
mense arch  through  which  ships  can  sail  with 
perfect  safety  up  to  the  presenl  time,  thus 
corroborating  the  assertion  of  the  historian 
(jinit<'(|  above. 

California  has  grown  to  be  a  great  and 
glorious  Stale  by  nature,  and  no  other  in  the 
American  Union  can  boasl  of  having  a  wider 
variotj  of  scenery  in  land,  ocean,  mountains, 
bays,  rivers  or  valleys.  All  seems  to  have 
been  previously  arranged  by  some  mysterious 
hand  on  a  grand  and  impressive  plan.  In 
geological  history  the  Pacific  slope  is  younger 
than  the  Atlantic,  yel  is  equally  interesting 
in  every  way,  and  California,  although  but 
a  young  State,  already  has  a  sublime  history 
of  its  own  thai  each  one  of  its  citizens  should 
and  ought  to  duly  appreciate.  It  is  the  name 
thai  was  assigned  to  the  new-found  country 
l»y  the  followers  of  I  Ionian  Cortez  when  he 
discovered  it  in  the  year  1536,  and  is  sup- 
posed  to  he  the  great  Cipnngo  of  Marco  Polo, 
or  the  Terrestrial  Paradise  of  Yao  Fohi  men- 
tioned in  the  famous  novel  of  Amadis  Di 
Cfaula  " Sergaa  De  Esplandian,"  which  every- 
bodj  seemed  to  be  anxious  to  go  even  across 
the  ocean  to  see. 


The  Golden  West  11 

For  a  period  of  more  than  100  years  the 
Spanish  Government  had  not  been  able  to 
accomplish  anything.  Missionaries  of  the 
Jesuit  Order  and  Franciscan  Friars  accom- 
panied the  Spanish  conquerors  in  Mexico, 
North  America,  and  in  Peru,  South  America, 
as  well  as  the  French  explorers  in  the  great 
and  extensive  valley  of  the  Mississippi  in  the 
United  States  of  America.  As  the  Spanish 
Viceroy  of  New  Spain  had  failed  in  his  at- 
tempts to  colonize  the  new  country  he  con- 
sented to  grant  the  charter  of  colonizing  the 
same  to  priests  of  the  Jesuit  Order  and  rec- 
ommended to  the  king  the  granting  of  said 
privilege  to  two  Jesuits  named  Kino  (Kuhn) 
and  Salvatierra,  who  were  to  have  command 
of  the  monastic  government  of  the  country  in 
order  to  convert  the  inhabitants  thereof  to 
Christianity. 

In  this  arduous  task  they  founded  twenty- 
eight  missions  from  Cape  San  Lucas  in  the 
extreme  South  to  the  Bay  of  Santa  Maria 
in  the  North.  The  country  seemed  to  be  in  a 
flourishing  and  prosperous  condition,  and  the 
conversion  of  the  native  tribes  of  the  Coras, 
Pericius  and  Cochimis  seemed  to  be  complete. 
Every  mission  contained  thousands  of  Neo- 
phytes and  Catechumens.  The  Jesuits  had 
accomplished  a  gigantic  undertaking  in  which 
they  had  been  aided  very  materially  by  a 
pious  group  of  people  in  Mexico  City  who 
had  created  a  fund  with  which  to  pay  all  the 


12  The  Golden  West 

enses  of  the  Jesuit  missionaries  in  the 
foundation  of  their  establishments.    The  said 

fund  was  known  by  the  name  of  the  Pious 
Fund  ( fondo  piadoso  >. 

It  was  in  the  year  1767,  however,  when 
by  royal  decree  all  de-nits  were  expelled  from 
tlif  Spanish  dominion  and  the  Franciscans 
took  their  place. 

Spain  had  great  commercial  relations  with 
the  East  Indies  and  needed  to  have  a  good 
harbor  on  Its  Pacific  coast  in  North  America 
aa  a  stopping  place  for  her  navigators  where 
they  could  get  supplies  and  make  repairs. 
This,  together  with  the  zeal  of  the  Franciscan 
Friars  for  the  conversion  of  the  natives  to 
Christianity,  led  to  the  ultimate  occupation 
of  my  glorious  country  California 

FIRST  SETTLEMENT. 

In  the  year  L769  several  expeditions  were 
sent  to  find  the  port  of  San  Diego.  Two  ex- 
peditions came  by  sea  and  two  more  by  land. 
The  expeditions  by  sea  were  under  Immediate 
command  of  (Jaspar  de  Portala,  who  had  been 
appointed  Governor  of  the  Province;  the  land 
expeditions  were  under  the  immediate  com- 
mand, of  the  Reverend  Friar  Junipero  Serra 
and  of  one.  ( lanizares. 

This  expedition  started  from  the  port  of 
Chametla  on  the  coast  of  Sinaloa  to  cross 
the  <iulf  of  Cortez  and  land  in  Santa  Maria 


The  Golden  West  13 

Bay  where  the  last  Jesuit  mission  was 
founded  immediately  before  their  expulsion. 
All  arrived  safely  at  Santa  Maria  and  from 
there  to  their  place  of  destination,  which  was 
San  Diego. 


GASPAR  de  PORTALA 

The  above  picture  represents  the  first 
Spanish  Governor  of  the  Province  of  Cali- 
fornia, Don  Gaspar  de  Portala,  who  came  by 
sea  and  found  the  port  of  San  Diego  as  men- 
tioned above.  Here  follows  a  list  of  all  the 
Spanish  Governors  up  to  the  date  of  the  Mex- 
ican Independence : 


14 


The  Golden  Wist 


<  Caspar  de  Portala,  fi 

din 

1767 

to 

1771 

Felipe  de  Barri, 

" 

1771 

4   i 

1774 

Felipe  de  Neve, 

>  > 

1774 

<   ( 

1782 

Pedro  Fajes, 

<  < 

1782 

i  I 

1790 

Jose  Antonio  Romeu, 

" 

1790 

i   I 

1792 

Jose  Joaquin  de 

Arrillaga, 

i . 

1792 

i   I 

1794 

Diego  de  Borica, 

1 1 

1794 

i  i 

ISO!) 

Jose  de  Arrillaga, 

1800 

<   i 

1814 

Jose  I  >ario  Argiiello, 

1814 

i  I 

1815 

Pablo  Vicente  de  Sola, 

.  i 

1*1.-) 

i   i 

1822 

The  plan  of  the  Franciscan  Friars  to  con- 
vert the  Indians  t«,  <  Ihristianity  was  the  same 
thai  had  been  adopted  by  the  Jesuil  Order. 


The  Golden  West  15 

The  building  of  churches,  around  which 
the  Fathers  lived,  instructing  the  neophytes 
in  the  faith  and  requiring  them  to  work  and 
live  in  the  ways  of  civilization.  These  es- 
tablishments were  called  or  given  the  name 
of  missions  and  were  the  chief  feature  of  the 
colonization  of  California.  The  mission 
padres  were  earnest,  devout  and  energetic 
men,  who  dedicated  their  entire  lives  to  their 
work  which  they  all  superintended  volun- 
tarily with  a  singleness  of  purpose  that  in- 
sured absolute  success.  In  1780  sixteen  mis- 
sionary priests  were  the  spiritual  rulers  of 
more  than  3000  native  converts  and  by  the 
end  of  the  century  they  had  founded  eighteen 
missions  with  forty  padres  and  a  neophyte 
population  of  13,500. 

With  reference  to  agriculture,  they  had 
raised  crops  of  from  30,000  to  75,000  bushels 
per  year,  their  harvests  being  the  only  ones 
raised  in  the  territory.  They  likewise  had, 
according  to  the  report  of  the  Father  Presi- 
dent, 70,000  head  of  horses  and  cattle  with 
more  than  as  many  more  head  of  sheep  and 
goats.  The  value  of  their  improvements  in 
churches  and  other  buildings  was  estimated 
to  be  worth  more  than  one  million  dollars  or 
pesos. 

The  plan  of  the  Spanish  government  in 
colonizing  California  included  not  only  the 
religious  establishments  to  be  known  as  mis- 
sions,  but   also   the   foundation   of  pueblos 


16  Tin.  <  k>LDEN  West 

(towns)  as  business  and  military  centers. 
The  military  quarters  were  named  presidios. 
There  were  four  of  these  military  stations  in 
( lalifornia  : — San  Diego,  Santa  Barbara,  Mon- 
terey  and  San  Francisco. 

Bere  follows  a  minute  description  of  all 
the  missions  of  California  together  with  a 
picture  of  their  appearance  at  the  date  or 
alter  the  date  of  the  American  occupation  of 
the  country  July,  1847. 


THE  MISSIONS 
OF  CALIFORNIA 


The  Golden  West  19 


SAN  DIEGO  de  ALCALA  (No.  1) 

This  mission  was  founded  June  16,  1769, 
latitude  33. 

It  was  the  first  one  founded,  and  is  lo- 
cated in  the  small  valley  known  as  the 
Canada  of  San  Diego,  at  the  termination  of 
which  is  the  ancient  presidio  of  the  same 
name.  The  place  selected  has  a  very  pictur- 
esque appearance.  It  is  only  a  few  miles  dis- 
tant from  the  bay.  The  old  mission  buildings 
have  all  gone  to  ruin. 


The  Golden  West  21 


SAN  CARLOS.  EL-CARMELO  (No.  2) 

This  mission  was  founded  June  30,  1770, 
in  latitude  36:44. 

It  is  located  in  the  Carmelo  valley  on  the 
coast,  west  of  the  presidio  of  Monterey;  and 
was  the  second  one  that  was  founded  by 
Father  Junipero  Serra.  The  edifice  has  al- 
ways been  noted  for  its  fine  type  of  archi- 
tecture. 


The  Golden  West  23 


SAN  ANTONIO  de  PADUA  (No.  3) 

This  mission  was  founded  July  14,  1771, 
in  latitude  36:30. 

The  San  Antonio  mission  is  located  in  the 
beautiful  valley  of  Las  Milpitas;  that  ex- 
tends southwest  to  the  Santa  Lucia  range  of 
mountains  that  run  along  the  coast  and  is  in 
Monterey  county.  The  old  mission  buildings 
are  in  a  good  state  of  preservation,  owing  to 
the  fact  that  Mr.  James  Alonzo  Forbes,  one 
of  the  leading  citizens  of  Monterey  county, 
with  residence  at  Jolon,  undertook  the  job  of 
making  some  substantial  repairs  on  the  old 
walls  that  were  left  after  the  death  of  the 
old  Mexican  parish  priest,  Ambriz,  who  had 
been  there  in  charge  for  more  than  forty-five 
years. 

Mr.  Forbes  performed  a  gigantic  task  in 
making  the  renovation  and  left  the  former 
ruins  that  were  crumbling  to  pieces  in  the  con- 
dition that  they  appear  in  the  picture. 


= 


O 


The  Golden  West  25 


SAN  CAELOS  CHAPEL 

Situated  at  Monterey;  built  in  the  year 
1770. 

This  chapel  is  not  properly  a  mission,  but 
was  the  first  church  erected  in  the  presidio 
of  Monterey  which  in  after  years  became  the 
capital  of  the  province. 


o 


The  Golden  West  27 


SAN  GABRIEL    (No.  4) 

This  mission  was  founded  in  September 
8,  1771,  in  latitude  34:10. 

At  the  time  of  its  foundation  it  was  dedi- 
cated to  the  Archangel  Gabriel.  It  is  in  Los 
Angeles  county,  and  the  buildings  are  in  a 
good  state  of  preservation.  It  is  located  in 
the  eastern  entrance  to  the  valley  of  Los  An- 
geles, distant  only  a  few  miles  from  the  most 
beautiful  city  in  California,  known  all  over 
the  world  as  the  true  "City  of  the  Angels," 
(City  of  Los  Angeles).  The  mission  proper 
is  surrounded  by  many  other  thriving  cities 
and  towns,  like  Pasadena. 

It  can  be  reached  by  electric  railway  lines 
that  traverse  in  all  directions  from  and  to 
Los  Angeles. 


The  Golden  West  29 


CHURCH  IN  LOS  ANGELES 

Chapel  on  the   old   Plaza  of  the  ancient 
pueblo  of  the  actual  city  of  Los  Angeles. 

Its  foundation  was  laid  immediately  after 
the  establishment  of  the  pueblo  (town)  by 
order  of  the  Viceroy  of  new  Spain.  It  was 
built  when  the  entire  population  did  not  reach 
the  number  of  1000,  and  was  consecrated  and 
given  the  name  of  "Church  of  Our  Lady  of 
Queen  of  the  Angels."  (Templo  de  Nuestra 
Senora  Reina  de  Los  Angeles).  It  was  one 
of  the  four  branch  churches  (asistencias)  to 
the  Mission  of  San  Gabriel.  Dedicated  in  the 
month  of  December,  1822. 


The  Golden  West  31 


SAN  LUIS  OBISPO  (No.  5) 

This  mission  was  founded  by  Junipero 
Serra  on  September  1, 1772,  in  latitude  35 :36. 
This  mission  was  founded  by  Junipero  Serra 
and  has  always  been  in  a  good  state  of  pres- 
ervation ;  on  account  of  the  fact  that  after  its 
secularization  in  1834  it  became  an  Indian 
pueblo  (town)  with  its  ejidos  (community 
lands)  to  the  extent  of  8876'  acres,  to  which 
it  was  entitled  by  Royal  Regulation.  Relig- 
ious services  have  been  celebrated  inside  of 
the  church  daily  up  to  the  present  time. 


The  Golden  West  33 


SAN  FRANCISCO  de  ASIS  (No.  6) 

This  mission  was  founded  on  October  9th, 
1776,  in  latitude  37:40.  It  was  called  Mis- 
sion Dolores  (Our  Lady  of  Pains). 

It  was  founded  by  the  exploring  party  at 
the  time  that  the  entrance  of  the  Port  of  San 
Francisco  was  discovered.  The  foundation 
was  made  on  the  9th  of  October  because  it 
was  the  day  of  San  Francisco,  the  patron 
saint  of  the  Order.  On  the  same  day  the  bay 
was  given  its  actual  name  of  San  Francisco. 
The  dedication  was  made  with  great  pomp 
and  solemnity,  as  described  in  "Forbes  Cali- 
fornia." The  mission  proper  is  situated  in 
what  now  is  the  heart  of  the  populous  and 
thriving  city  of  San  Francisco. 


The  Golden  West  35 

SAN  JUAN  CAPISTRANO  (No.  7) 

This  mission  was  founded  at  first  on  the 
30th  of  October,  1775,  by  Father  Fermin  de 
Lazuen,  on  the  feast  day  of  its  patron  saint. 
The  mission  proper  stands  today  between  two 
streams — on  that  of  the  Trabnco  and  on  the 
south  that  of  the  San  Juan,  which  comes  down 
from  the  ravine  called  Mission  Vieja  (old 
mission),  with  the  best  of  agricultural  land  in 
its  surroundings.  Father  Lazuen  was  the 
founder  of  the  first  establishment  that  only 
lasted  one  year,  on  account  of  its  destruction 
by  the  Indians  of  that  vicinity.  After  that 
came  Father  Junipero  Serra,  Father  Mugar- 
tegui  and  some  soldiers  from  San  Diego,  and 
resumed  the  work  of  the  foundation.  San 
Juan,  in  primitive  times,  was  considered  as 
one  of  the  most  beautiful  structures  in  the 
entire  country,  but  was  only  used  six  years 
and  three  months,  as  it  was  destroyed  by  a 
terrible  earthquake  on  December  8th,  1812.  It 
is  reported  that  at  the  time  of  the  catastrophe 
the  entire  congregation  perished  with  the  ex- 
ception of  one  woman  and  child.  This  mis- 
sion was  never  rebuilt,  and  represents  today 
the  same  appearance  that  it  did  fifty  years 
ago,  with  the  exception  of  the  most  valuable 
and  useful  improvements  that  are  being  con- 
stantly made  by  its  actual  worthy  and  ener- 
getic parish  priest  Father  John  0.  Sullivan. 


The  Golden  West  37 

SANTA  CLARA   (No.  8) 

This  mission  was  founded  on  January  18th,  1777, 
in  latitude  37 :20.  It  was  located  at  first  on  the 
banks  of  the  river  named  Guadalupe.  Next  it  was 
located  close  to  the  railroad  depot  at  Santa  Clara, 
where  stands  today  a  large  cross  in  memory  of  the 
second  foundation  which  was  destroyed  by  an 
earthquake  in  the  year  1813. 

For  the  benefit  of  my  readers  I  will  explain  why 
Col.  Don  Juan  Bautista  de  Anza  in  the  year  1774, 
while  on  his  journey  from  the  presidio  of  Tubac 
in  Sonora,  to  found  the  presidio  of  San  Francisco, 
gave  the  above  name  to  the  said  river.  His  entire 
party  had  been  for  nearly  two  days  without  water ; 
when  he  arrived  at  the  willow  grove  that  still  exists 
in  the  suburbs  of  the  actual  city  of  San  Jose.  There 
they  camped  and  found  the  above  mentioned  river 
and  had  all  the  water  that  they  needed.  Anza  gave 
the  river  the  name  of  Guadalupe,  in  honor  of  the 
Virgin  Mary,  who  was  the  Patron  Saint  of  the  en- 
tire party —  Nuestra  Senora  de  Guadalupe  (Our 
Lady  of  Guadalupe)  who  is  said  to  have  apjjeared 
corporeally  in  the  Sixteenth  Century  on  the  moun- 
tain of  Tepeyac  on  the  valley  of  Mexico  to  the 
Indian  Juan  Diego.  The  picture  shows  the  mission 
as  it  was  after  it  was  secularized  in  the  year  1834 
and  converted  into  an  Indian  pueblo  with  its  parish 
priest  and  ejidos  (commons  or  townlands)  to  the 
extent  of  two  square  leagues  around  the  old  church 
building.  Santa  Clara  has  been  ever  since  the 
flourishing  and  thriving  City  of  Santa  Clara  in  the 
fertile  county  of  the  same  name. 


The  Golden  West  39 


SAN  BUENAVENTURA  (No.  9) 

This  mission  was  founded  March  31,  1782, 
in  latitude  34 :36. 

This  mission  is  situated  in  the  beautiful 
district  of  country  south  of  Santa  Barbara 
county,  and  is  the  county  seat  of  the  county  of 
the  same  name.  The  valley  upon  which  it  is 
located  is  or  was  known  in  former  times  as 
the  Santa  Clara  valley  of  southern  California 
in  San  Buenaventura  county.  The  mission 
building  is  in  a  good  state  of  preservation  and 
religious  services  are  held  daily  in  the  said 
temple  as  in  days  gone  by.  The  church  is 
highly  decorated  inside. 


The  Golden  West  41 


SANTA  BARBARA   (No.  10) 

This  mission  was  founded  December  4th, 
1786,  in  latitude  34:40. 

It  was  one  of  the  most  conspicuous  in  Cali- 
fornia on  account  of  the  fact  that  it  was  a 
military  post  (presidio)  of  the  same  name, 
as  well  as  the  place  where  was  established  the 
celebrated  college  of  the  Order  of  the  Fran- 
ciscans. Santa  Barbara  mission  was  one  of 
the  primitive  monastic  establishments  created 
in  California,  for  the  ordaining  of  new  priests 
of  this  religious  order. 


The  Golden  West  43 


PUEISIMA  CONCEPCION  (No.  11) 

This  mission  was  founded  December  8th, 
1787,  and  was  in  existence  only  a  few  years 
when  it  was  extinguished  to  give  place  to  that 
of  Santa  Inez,  which  seemed  to  be  of  greater 
importance.  It  was  situated  about  thirty 
miles  west  of  Santa  Barbara  and  located  in 
the  Lompoc  valley. 


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The  Golden  West  45 


SANTA  CRUZ.  (No.  12) 

This  mission  was  founded  in  August  28, 
1791,  in  latitude  37 :00. 

It  is  situated  on  the  seashore,  near  the  en- 
trance to  the  bay  of  Monterey  in  Santa  Cruz 
county.  It  was  founded  in  the  same  year  as 
the  mission  of  La  Soledad  in  the  Salinas  val- 
ley in  Monterey  county.  In  January,  1840, 
an  earthquake  and  tidal  wave  destroyed  the 
buildings  very  materially.  The  final  disaster 
occurred  in  1851,  when  the  church  walls  fell 
in.  The  mission  of  Santa  Cruz  has  now  en- 
tirely disappeared. 


The  Golden  West  47 


NUESTRA    SEnORA    de    la    SOLEDAD 

(No.  13) 

This  mission  was  founded  on  October  9th, 
1791,  in  latitude  36:38. 

The  name  of  this  mission  was  Nnestra 
Senora  de  la  Soledad  (Our  Lady  of  Solitude). 
It  is  perhaps  one  of  the  most  historical  in 
California  as  it  was  the  residence  of  one  of 
the  most  notable  governors  of  California  dur- 
ing the  Spanish  regime. 

It  was  the  place  where  Don  Jose  Joaquin  de 
Arrillaga  died  on  the  25th  of  November, 
1 814.  It  was  also  the  place  where  in  the  year 
1818  Governor  D.  Pablo  Vicente  de  Sola 
transferred  all  the  records  and  all  articles  of 
value,  from  the  capital  of  the  province  which 
was  Monterey,  when  the  pirates  attacked  and 
robbed  the  pueblo  and  destroyed  the  presidio. 
Governor  de  Sola  transported  everything  of 
value  beforehand  so  that  when  the  pirates 
anchored  in  Monterey  bay  the  governor  could 
not  be  found  because  he  was  in  La  Soledad 
with  all  that  belonged  to  the  government  and 
to  him. 


The  Golden  West  49 


SAN  JOSfi  (No.  14) 

This  mission  was  founded  June  11,  1797, 
in  latitude  37 :30. 

It  was  built  for  the  purpose  of  having 
an  adjunct  establishment  to  that  of  Santa 
Clara.'  It  is  situated  in  the  great  and  fertile 
valley  of  Santa  Clara  and  in  the  neighbor- 
hood of  the  "Garden  City"  of  Santa  Clara 
county  and  about  fifty  miles  distant  from  the 
city  of  San  Francisco.  Nearly  all  of  the  mis- 
sion buildings  are  in  ruins.  The  only  build- 
ing that  remains  is  the  ancient  monastery 
thereof. 


The  Golden  West  51 


SAN  JUAN  BAUTISTA  (No.  15) 

This  mission  was  founded  on  June  24, 
1797,  in  latitude  36:58. 

It  is  located  in  Monterey  county  and  about 
seven  miles  from  the  Pajaro  river.  It  was 
the  residence  of  the  prefecture  of  the  district 
which  embraced  all  of  the  counties  north  of 
Monterey.  It  was  there  that  the  last  Mexican 
prefect  exercised  the  functions  of  prefect, 
who  was  Manuel  Castro.  The  mission  build- 
ings have  disappeared. 


The  Golden  West  53 


SAN  MIGUEL  (No.  16) 

This  mission  was  founded  on  July  25th, 
1797,  in  latitude  35:43. 

This  mission  is  situated  in  the  immediate 
vicinity  of  Paso  Robles,  in  San  Luis  Obispo 
county;  Paso  Robles  is  especially  noted  for 
its  hot  springs  and  sulphur  mud  baths  whose 
healthful  and  curative  virtues  are  enjoyed  by 
thousands  of  persons  who  visit  the  locality. 
The  mission  proper  has  been  for  many  years 
partially  abandoned,  but  for  the  past  eight 
years  has  been  improving  wonderfully.  The 
ancient  San  Miguel  mission  will  soon  become 
a  thriving  and  important  business  center  of 
San  Luis  Obispo  county. 


The  Golden  West  55 


SAN  FERNANDO  KEY  (No.  17) 

This  mission  was  founded  on  September  8, 
1797,  in  latitude  34:16,  and  dedicated  to 
Ferdinand  III,  King  of  Spain.  The  mission 
buildings  were  made  in  a  very  substantial 
manner,  but  were  partially  abandoned  in  the 
year  1806,  and  suffered  severely  during  an 
earthquake  several  years  later.  The  mission 
proper  is  located  in  the  fertile  valley  of  San 
Fernando.  It  was  granted  to  Andres  Pico, 
and  Eulogio  de  Celts  by  the  Mexican  gover- 
nor Don  Pio  Pico,  in  the  year  1845. 


The  Golden  "West  57 


SAN  LUIS  REY  (No.  18) 

This  mission  was  founded  on  June  13, 
1798,  in  latitude  33 :03.  It  was  the  last  mission 
founded  in  the  eighteenth  century.  It  is 
known  as  the  grandest  and  richest  of  the 
California  missions  and  was  located  in  a  most 
picturesque  section  of  San  Diego  county,  near 
what  today  is  known  by  the  name  of  Ocean- 
side,  some  fifty  miles  from  San  Diego. 


The  Golden  West  59 


SANTA  INEZ  (No.  19) 

This  mission  was  founded  on  November 
17,  1804,  in  latitude  34:32. 

It  is  in  Santa  Barbara  county,  and  is  con- 
sidered to  be  of  great  importance  because  it 
had  a  college  for  the  instruction  of  the  grow- 
ing generation.  In  proof  of  this,  I  will  say 
that  during  the  Mexican  regime,  a  grant  of 
land  was  made  to  the  catholic  church  for  the 
support  and  maintenance  of  the  said  college. 
The  name  of  the  rancho  or  grant  was  Canada 
de  los  Peaos  or  "College  rancho."  College 
rancho,  six  square  leagues  in  Santa  Barbara 
county,  patented  to  archbishop  of  California, 
confirmed  March  16,  1857,  for  35,499.37  acres. 


The  Golden  West  61 


SAN  EAFAEL  ARCANGEL  (No.  20) 

This  mission  was  founded  on  October  14, 
1817,  in  latitude  38:00. 

This  was  the  first  mission  established 
north  of  San  Francisco.  It  is  in  Marin  coun- 
ty, and  never  had  any  considerable  number 
of  neophytes,  and  during  the  time  that  it 
lasted  as  a  mission  proper  was  not  prosper- 
ous. 


The  Golden  West  63 


SAN  FRANCISCO  SOLANO  (No.  21) 

This  was  the  last  mission  founded  in  Cali- 
fornia. It  was  dedicated  on  July  4th,  1823. 
It  never  flourished  as  a  mission  and  was  con- 
verted into  a  military  garrison  immediately 
after  its  secularization,  and  Mariano  Guada- 
lupe Vallejo  assumed  the  ownership  thereof 
without  having  any  right  to  do  so. 

The  said  mission  is  in  the  present  town 
of  Sonoma. 


64 


The  Golden  West 


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The  Golden  West  65 

Report  of  the  Foundation 

Report  of  the  foundation  of  the  missions 
of  Upper  California,  with  their  dates  re- 
spectively, and  distances  from  one  another  as 
given  above. 

Summary  of  totals: 

Baptisms   83,6'96 

Deaths   39,082 

Fugitives    5,833 

Living  18,781 

Escaped  as  fugitives  and  dead  64,965,  or 
77  per  cent  of  diminution  of  the  natives  in  the 
missions,  during  the  eighty-six  years  of  the 
conquest.  According  to  past  experience  the 
decrease  was  found  to  be  much  greater  be- 
tween the  year  1828  and  the  date  of  the  secu- 
larization of  the  missions  which  was  the  prin- 
cipal cause  of  their  total  ruin  in  the  year  1837. 

Political  and  Civil  Results 

The  population  of  the  country,  and  its  lib- 
eration, from  barbarism,  was  never  of  any 
benefit  to  Mexico,  but  has  always  been  bene- 
ficial to  the  United  States. 


I  hereby  certify  that  the  foregoing  report 
is  a  true  copy,  made  from  the  original  there- 
of, which  I  received  from  the  hand  of  the  Rev. 
Father  President  of  the  missions,  Friar  Nar- 


66  The  Golden  West 

ciso  Duran,  and  which  said   paper  forms  a 

part  of  my  private  documents. 

Mission  of  Santa  Clara,  September  !)th,  1828. 

(Signed)    Fk.w  Nabciso  Duran, 
(paraph.) 
(Signed)     Diego  A.   Forbes, 
( paraph.) 

Facts  Concern  ix<;  the  Missions  ok 
(  Jalifobnia 

As  by  the  Royal  Regulations  issued  by  the 
king  of  Spain  for  the  foundation  of  mission- 
ary establishments  in  the  province  for  the 
conversion  of  the  native  Indians  to  Christian- 
ity it  was  declarel:  First,  that  no  mission 
could  exist  for  a  longer  period  than  ten  year> 
as  it  was  supposed  thai  within  said  period  the 
neophytes  thereof  would  be  sufficiently  in- 
structed to  govern  themselves  in  separate  and 
independent  communities. 

Second,  that   any  mission   which   did   not 
prosper  should  be  extinguished  an  1  its  neo 
phytes  and  catechumens  transferred  to  the 
nearesl  prosperous  establishment  of  the  same 

kind. 

Third,  that  ten  years  after  the  foundation 
of  any  mission    it  had  to  be  secularized  and 
such  communities  as  were  capable  of  govern 
ing  themselves   were  declared  to  he   [ndian 
pueblos   (towns)   with  their  respective  civil 

authorities  mid  their  parish  pries!  entitled  to 


The  Golden  West  67 

receive  two  square  leagues  of  land  around  the 
mission  buildings  as  townlands  (ejidos). 

After  the  date  of  the  Mexican  Indepen- 
dence and  when  the  first  Mexican  Congress 
met  at  Chilparecingo  in  the  State  of  Guerrero 
in  the  year  1824,  all  of  the  missions  of  Cali- 
fornia were  ordered  to  be  secularized.  Noth- 
ing, however,  was  done  until  the  year  1828 
when  the  government  appointed  Don  Jose 
Maria  de  Echeandia,  governor  of  this  terri- 
tory, with  orders  to  make  the  secularization 
of  the  mentioned  pious  establishments.  Mr. 
Echeandia  came  and  did  nothing. 

After  him  came  Guadalupe  Victoria,  who 
likewise  failed  to  do  anything  in  that  matter 
and  the  priests  continued  as  before  in  their 
arduous  labors. 

Next  came  General  Don  Jose  Figueroa 
with  special  instructions  to  carry  out  the 
above  mentioned  decree  of  secularization  of 
the  said  establishments,  which  he  did  in  the 
year  1834,  causing  thereby  the  total  ruin  and 
desolation  of  the  entire  country.  He  ap- 
pointed a  majordomo  (overseer)  in  each  mis- 
sion who  took  possession  of  all  the  properties 
that  the  priests  possessed  in  mission  build- 
ings and  other  improvements,  together  with 
all  the  cattle,  horses  and  sheep  that  in  some 
of  the  missions  like  San  Gabriel  and  San  Luis 
Bey  reached  to  the  hundreds  of  thousands. 
These  majordomos  shamefully  appropriated 
to  themselves  the  said  estates  to  satisfy  their 


68  The  Golden  West 

inordinate  greed  and  ambition,  Ignoring  ab- 
solutely the  rights  of  the  priests  as  well  as 
those  of  the  Indians  themselves.  As  the  coun- 
try continued  in  1835,  1836,  1837  and  1838  in 
constant  revolution,  the  majordomos  never 
rendered  any  account  to  the  governor  of  their 
administration. 

Nearly  all  of  the  missions  of  California 
were  either  granted  to  private  individuals  for 
debts  that  the  mission  priests  had  contracted 
or  were  granted  as  cattle  ranches  (farms). 
The  few  that  remained  as  separate  com- 
munities were  not  declared  to  be  Indian  pue- 
blos in  conformity  with  the  above  mentioned 
regulation  but  remained  simply  as  villages 
or  towns  and  did  not  receive  the  quantity  of 
town  lands  as  mentioned  above,  and  because 
the  governors  of  the  department  continued 
making  grants  to  individuals  up  to  and  ad- 
joining, and  even  including  in  many  instances, 
the  mission  buildings  themselves. 

The  following  is  a  list  of  the  tracts  of  land 
granted  to  private  persons  in  the  vicinity  of 
said  establishments' 

Sax    Diego 

Nearly  all  of  the  mission  lands  granted 
to  Santiago  Argiiello  in  May  10, 1845,  without 
including  the  lands  of  the  present  city  of  San 
Diego,  because  those  belonged  to  the  ancient 
town  that  was  founded  with  the  old  presidio 
(military  garrison)  in  the  year  1769. 


The  Golden  West  69 

The  National  Ranch,  where  National  City 
now  stands,  granted  to  John  Poster  in  Decem- 
ber 11,  1835. 

Melijo  Rancho  granted  to  Santiago  E. 
Argiiello  on  May  17,  1834. 

Guejito  granted  to  Jose  M.  Orosco  Sep- 
tember 20,  1845. 

The  island  or  peninsula  that  forms  the 
Bay  of  San  Diego,  and  upon  which  the  Coro- 
nado  Hotel  now  stands,  granted  to  Pedro  C. 
Carrillo  on  the  15th  of  May,  1846. 

El  Cajon  granted  to  Miguel  de  Pedrorena 
on  the  23rd  of  December,  1845. 

San  Jacinto  granted  to  Mrs.  Pedrorena  on 
the  9th  of  May,  1846. 

La  Soledad  granted  to  Rafael  Serrano  on 
the  7th  of  May,  1836. 

Cuvamaca  granted  to  Agustin  Olvera  on 
the  11th  of  August,  1845. 

San  Jacinto  Nuevo  granted  to  M.  del 
Rosario  Estudillo  de  Aguirre  on  the  14th  of 
January,  1846. 

Tolla  granted  to  Pablo  and  Jose  Apis  on 
the  7th  of  November,  1845. 

San  Luis  Rey 

Buenavista  granted  to  Felipe  Indian  of 
said  mission  on  the  8th  of  July,  1845. 

Guajome  granted  to  Andres  and  Jose 
Manuel  (Indians)  on  the  19th  of  July,  1845. 


W  The  Golden  West 

Santa  Rosa  granted  to  .Juan  Moreno  on 
the  30th  of  June,  1846. 

Cuca  granted  to  Juana  Maria  on  the  15th 
of  May,  1845. 

Agua  Bedionda  granted  to  J.  M.  Marron 
on  the  10th  of  Angust,  1842. 

Santa  Margarita  and  Los  Flores  granted 
to  Pio  Pieo  and  Andres  on  the  10th  of  May, 
1841. 

Los  Encinitos  granted  to  Andres  Ybarra 
on  the  23rd  of  January,  1846. 

Los  Encinos  granted  to  Tomas  Gutierres 
on  the  11th  of  December,  1833. 

San  Alejo  granted  to  Juan  M.  Osuma 
September  15,  1836. 

Las  Milpitas  granted  to  Silvestre  Marron 
on  the  11th  of  February,  1845. 

Buenavista  patented  to  Jesus  Machado  on 
the  3rd  of  October,  L856. 

San  Juan  Capistbano 

La  Paz  and  the  mission  Yioja  (old  mis- 
sion) granted  to  Agustin  Olvera  on  the  14th 
of  April,  1845. 

Potrero  of  lli<'  Sierra  with  the  warm 
springs  (Agua  ( 'alieiitr )  granted  to  John 
Foster  on  the  5th  of  April,  L845. 

El  Trabuco  granted  to  Santiago  and  Ra- 
mon Argiiello  on  the  3ls1  of  July  L841,  but 
patented  to  John  Foster  together  with  nearly 
all  of  the  lands  surrounding  the  said  mission 


The  Golden  West  71 

building,  which  were  afterwards  recovered  by 
the  archbishop  of  California,  Joseph  Sadoe 
Alemany,  in  the  fifties  by  decree  of  the 
United   States   District   Court. 

San  Gabriel 

Three  square  leagues  granted  to  Julian 
Williams  on  the  1st  of  April,  1843. 

Close  to  the  dam  of  the  mission  one  square 
league  granted  to  Joaquin  as  magistrate 
(Alcalde)  and  to  forty  Indians  more  around 
the  mission  buildings  on  the  3rd  of  May,  1843. 

Azusa  granted  to  Henry  Dalton  for  a  mis- 
sion debt  on  the  26th  of  May,  1845. 

Cucamonga  granted  to  Y.  Coronel  on  the 
15th  of  June^  1846. 

La  Puente  granted  to  Perfecto  Hugo  Reid 
and  W.  Workman  on  the  22nd  of  July,  1845. 

La  Puente  granted  to  John  Rowland  on 
the  14th  of  January,  1842. 

Santa  Anita  granted  to  P.  Hugo  Reid  on 
the  31st  of  March,  1845. 

500  varas  sq.  to  Simeon,  a  mission  Indian, 
on  the  1st  of  June,  1846. 

1000  varas  sq.  granted  to  Serafina  de  Jesus 
on  the  3rd  of  May,  1843. 

500  varas  sq.  granted  to  Don  Manuel  de 
Silvera  on  the  18th  of  May,  1843. 

200  varas  sq.  granted  to  Arno  Maerbe  on 
the  20th  of  May,  1843. 

200  varas  sq.  granted  to  Santiago  Silva  on 
the  same  date. 


72  The  Golden  West 

An  extension  of  500  varas  sq.  granted  to 
Serafina  de  Jesus  on  the  31st  of  December, 
1845. 

San  Fernando 

All  of  the  valley  with  the  mission  build- 
ings granted  to  Andres  Pico  and  Eulogio  de 
Celis  and  patented  by  the  United  States  Dis- 
trict Court  for  115,000  acres  of  land,  except 
the  mission  buildings.  The  date  of  the  grant 
was  January  8,  1845.  This  mission  was  ex- 
tinguished at  the  date  of  its  secularization. 

El  Encino  granted  to  Francisco  and 
Roque,  mission  Indians,  in  July  8,  1845,  but 
patented  to  Vicente  de  la  Osa. 

El  Escorpion  granted  to  Urbano  Odon  and 
Manuel,  also  Indians,  on  the  7th  of  April, 
L845. 

San  Buenaventura 

San  Miguelito  granted  to  Ramon  Rodri- 
guez, on  May  21,  1846. 

Mission  lands  granted  to  Jose  Gabriel  and 
Juan  de  Jesus  on  tin-  22nd  of  July,  1845. 

The  rest  of  the  mission  Lands  granted  to 
Camarillo  and  Poll  on  June  12,  1846. 

Mission  lands  to  Serro  Maria,  September 
23rd,  1845. 

Santa   Barbara 

This  mission  remained  as  a  pueblo  (town) 
because  it  had  been  recognized  as  such  since 
the  primitive  foundation  of  the  place  by  the 
Spaniards  of  the  province  as  one  of  the  four 


The  Golden  West  73 

royal  presidios  (military  garrisons)  of  Cali- 
fornia. The  mission  buildings  were  dedicated 
as  a  convent  or  monastery  for  the  Franciscan 
friars  who  inhabit  the  mentioned  locality  up 
to  the  present  time. 

Nearly  all  of  the  surrounding  tracts  of 
land  were  granted  as  follows : 

Dos  Pueblos  to  Nicholas  Den  on  the  18th 
of  April,  1842. 

La  Goleta  granted  to  Daniel  Hill  on  the 
10th  of  June,  1846. 

Huasana  to  Isaac  J.  Sparks  on  December 
8,  1843. 

PlJKISIMA    CoNCEPCION 

This  mission  was  extinguished  and 
granted  to  Anastacio  Carrillo  with  buildings 
and  all  on  May  18,  1837. 

Santa  Ynez 

Eight  square  leagues  granted  to  the 
bishop  of  California  for  the  foundation  of  a 
college  or  seminary. 

La  Laguna  granted  to  Oeiaviano  Gutier- 
rez November  14,  1845. 

La  Carpinteria  granted  to  Cosme  Vanegas 
on  the  18th  of  January,  1834. 

Los  Alamos  granted  to  Jose  de  la  Guerra 
on  the  8th  of  March,  1839. 

Los  Alamos  and  Agua  Caliente  to  Pedro 
C.  Carrillo  on  the  14th  of  October,  1843. 


74  The  Golden  West 

San  Luis  Obispo 

This  mission  was  also  converted  into  a 
thriving  town,  but  all  of  the  surrounding 
tracts  were  granted  to  private  persons  as 
follows : 

Santa  Margarita  granted  to  Joaquin  Es- 
trada on  the  18th  of  September,  1841. 

Asuncion  to  Pedro  Estrada  on  the  10th 
of  April,  1844. 

Canada  de  los  Osos  to  Scott  and  Wilson  on 
the  24th  of  September,  1845. 

San  Miguelito  to  Miguel  Avila  on  the  10th 
of  May,  1842. 

Arrovo  Grande  to  Seferino  Castro  on  the 
25th  of  April,  1841. 

San  Miguel 

This  mission  discontinued  after  its  secu- 
larization and  its  lands  were  granted  like  the 
others. 

Paso  Robles  to  Pedro  Narvaes  and  Pe- 
tronilo  Bios  on  May  24,  1844. 

El  Nacimiento  to  Mauricio  Gonzalez  on 
the  10th  of  February,  1842. 

Ill  Ploito  to  Antonio  Chavez  on  the  18th 
of  July,  1845. 

San  Antonio 

Tin'  Milpita-  u ranted  to  Ygnacio  Pastor 
-  [ndian)  on  t  lie  10th  of  April,  1846. 

Los  ( >jitos  to  Mariano  Soberanes  on  April 
5,  1843. 


The  Golden  West  75 

La  Soled  ad 

This  mission  was  granted  to  Panfilo  So- 
beranes  with  mission  buildings  that  were  all 
in  ruins  and  the  adjoining  tract  of  Los  Coches 
to  Josefa  Soberanes  on  the  14th  of  June,  1841. 

Santa  Ckuz 

This  mission  was  destroyed  by  an  earth- 
quake but  continued  as  a  town  of  some  im- 
portance, being  the  county  seat  of  Santa  Cruz 
county.  Some  of  the  tracts  that  were  granted 
to  private  individuals  were  the  following: 

To  Pedro  Sansevain,  El  Rincon,  on  the 
25th  of  April,  1846. 

To  Jose  A.  Bolcof,  San  Agustin,  on  the 
7th  of  September,  1841. 

1000  varas  sq.  to  Nicolas  Lucero  on  the 
18th  of  March,  1844. 

San  Juan  Bautista 

This  mission  remained  as  a  town  and  was 
the  seat  of  the  first  prefecture  of  the  depart- 
ment up  to  the  date  of  the  American  occupa- 
tion of  the  country  in  the  year  1847. 

Santa  Claea 

The  mission  buildings  in  part  were 
granted  to  J.  Alexander  Forbes,  together 
with  the  adjoining  tract  of  El  Potrero  (en- 
closed tract)  known  today  as  the  Stockton 
Ranch  between  the  mission  and  the  city  of 


76  The  Goldex  West 

San  Jose.  Santa  Clara  is  now  the  thriving 
city  close  to  the  Garden  City  of  the  State 
which  is  no  other  thai)  the  ancient  pueblo 
founded  by  order  of  the  Spanish  government 
in  the  year  L780  ander  the  same  regulation 
as  that  of  Los  Angeles,  original  name  San 
Jose  de  Gnadalnpe. 

San  Jose 

This  mission  was  extinguished  as  it  was 
only  a  branch  of  Santa  ( llara. 

S\n  Pbanctsco  db  Asis  (Los  Dolores  Pains) 

It  was  claimed  that  this  mission  had  been 
granted  by  the  governor  to  its  parish  priesl 
Santillan,  lmt  the  Land  commissioner  re 
jected  the  claim  and  the  mission  remained 
simply  as  a  town  and  was  the  place  where  all 
the  civil  authorities  resided  as  they  could  uol 
be  established  in  the  small  settlement  of 
5Terba  Buena  with  only  a  few  bouses  (less 
than  23). 

The  grants  made  were  to  Jose  de  Jesus 
Noe,  San  Miguel  on  December  26,  L845.  La- 
guna  de  la  Merced  to  B.  Galindo  January  7. 
L842.  Visitacion  and  Rodeo  to  Jacob  P.  Leese 
on  the  31st  of  .Inly.  L841. 

s.w  Rafael  |  In  Marin  <  lounty) 

This  remained  as  a  town  and  is  the  county 
seat.  Ii  was  claimed  to  have  been  -ranted 
to  Timothy   Murphy  lmt  the  claim  was  re- 


The  Golden  West  77 

jected  by  the  land  commissioner.  San  Rafael 
is  now  a  nourishing  city,  distant  only  four 
miles  from  the  State  penitentiary  at  Point 
San  Quentin. 

San  Feancisco  Solano  (Alias  Sonoma) 

This  was  the  last  mission  founded  in  1823 
and  was  extinguished  and  converted  into  a 
military  garrison  and  claimed  and  confirmed 
to  General  Mariano  Guadalupe  Vallejo  in  the 
fifties. 

The  Archbishup  of  California,  Joseph 
Sadoc  Alemany,  presented  a  claim  to  the  land 
commissioner  for  all  of  the  mission  buildings 
and  land  that  had  been  granted  as  above  set 
fourth.  His  claim  was  rejected  as  to  the  out- 
side lands  but  confirmed  for  the  mission 
buildings  and  a  small  number  of  acres  around 
the  mission  church. 

We  are  assured  that  the  missionary 
fathers,  as  soon  as  the  decree  of  seculariza- 
tion was  issued,  lost  all  hope  and  ambition 
and  commenced  to  slaughter  their  cattle  by 
the  thousands  for  the  meat,  which  they  cut 
up  and  dried  in  the  sun  and  made  into  bales, 
saving  also  the  best  horns,  hides  and  tallow, 
which  they  sold  to  the  several  merchants  who 
frequented  the  coast  every  six  months. 

In  this  way  the  mission  padres  proved 
that  they  did  not  intend  to  lose  all  the  wealth 
that  they  had  accumulated  after  many  years 
of  toil  and  labor. 


78  The  Golden  West 

We  arc  also  assured  in  Forbes  California 
that  tli<'  richest  missions  wore  those  of  San 
Gabriel  and  San  Luis  Rey  and  that  these  pos- 
sessed  as  many  as  two  hundred  thousand  head 
of  cattle,  over  five  hundred  head  of  horses, 
and  over  forty  thousand  head  of  sheep,  and 
San  Gabriel  about  one  hundred  and  fifty 
thousand  grapevines. 

Although  Washington  Irving  qualified  the 
San  Gabriel  valley  as  an  immense  lava  bed 
with  dustlike  smoke,  his  mistake  was  only  the 
result  of  his  utter  ignorance  of  the  facts  rela- 
tive thereto. 

The  original  settlers  of  San  Bernardino 
county  were  Jose  Antonio  and  Jose  Maria 
Lugo,  Vicente  Lugo  and  Diego  Sepulvada, 
who  received  a  granl  of  seven  square  Leagues 
each  from  the  Mexican  government  on  the 
21s1  of  June,  L842.  Jose  del  Carmen  Sepul- 
veda  was  also  one  of  the  grantees  and  after 
the  dale  of  the  American  occupation  in  1847 
a  Mormon  colony  came  and  settled  there  until 
the  Mexican  granl  was  confirmed  by  the 
United  Stale-  I  >istric1  ( lourt. 

Primitive  Life  op  the  Native  Californians 

The  entire  while  population  of  California 
in  L846  may  have  reached  1000,  chiefly  com- 
posed of  Spanish  families  who  had  come  from 
different  parts  of  Mexico  in  the  several  ex- 
peditions  thai    had  arrived   to   colonize  the 


The  Golden  West 


79 


country.     Many  of  them  were  of  pure  Span- 
ish blood. 

The  leading  business  and  occupation  of 
the  people  was  cattle  raising  for  their  hide 
and  tallow,  which  they  sold  to  American  and 
other  traders  along  the  coast.  The  universal 
price  fixed  on  hides  was  two  (2)  pesos  each 
for  which  the  merchants  would  pay  in  goods. 
Land  was  held  in  large  tracts  that  had  been 
given  to  them  gratis  by  the  government, 
Spanish  as  well  as  Mexican,  and  the  tracts 
were  called  ranchos  and  their  owners  ranch- 
eros,  who  lived  an  easy  unprogressive  life. 


Pio  Pico 


80  The  Golden  West 

Their  general  mode  of  travel  was  on  horse- 
back.  They  were  all  skilled  riders,  natural 
mnsicians  and  graceful  dancers. 

The  above  picture  represents  the  last 
Mexican  governor  of  the  territory  of  Upper 
California  immediately  prior  to  the  <late  of 
the  American  occupation.  Pio  Pico  was  with- 
out doubt  the  most  influential  politician  in 
the  country  as  he  was  kept  in  office  from  the 
year  1822  to  1846.  When  he  was  not  acting 
as  governor  he  was  member  of  the  territorial 
deputation  or  member  of  the  departmental 
assembly.  Don  Pio,  as  lie  was  called,  was 
very  rich  at  the  time  that  the  Americans 
commenced  to  come  into  Los  Angeles  county  ; 
he  was  well  liked  by  all  his  countrymen,  and 
highly  respected  by  all  the  Americans  who 
had  the  good  fortune  to  know  him  during  his 
lifetime. 

Here  follows  list  of  Mexican  governors  in 
California  alter  the  date  of  the  Mexican  In- 
dependence. 

Luis  Antonio  Argiiello  from  1S23  to  1824 


Jos.'-   .Ma  do  Echeandia 

"       1825    ' 

'    1831 

Manuel  Victoria 

"       1831    ' 

'    1832 

Pio  l'ico  as  Pres.  of  the  Territorial 

I  deputation 

•'      1832    ' 

'    1833 

Jos.'-  Figueroa 

1833    ' 

'    1835 

1  last  ro 

1 

'    1836 

Nicolas  Gutierrez 

1836    ' 

'    1836 

Mariano  chico 

183(5    ' 

*    1836 

Nicolas  (lutierrez 

1836    ' 

'    1836 

.1  nan  Bautista  AJvarado 

1836    ' 

'    1842 

Manuel  Blicheltorena 

"       1842    ' 

'    1845 

Pio  Pico 

"       1845    ' 

'    1846 

The  Golden  West  81 

Foreign  Residents  in  California  in  1846. 
American  whaling  ships  appeared  along 
the  California  coast  in  the  Pacific  ocean  early 
in  the  century.  Regular  trade  with  the  Cali- 
fornia missions  began  in  the  year  1822  and 
grew  rapidly  and  even  trappers  made  their 
way  into  the  country  as  early  as  1826.  From 
the  year  1839  to  1846  Americans  commenced 
to  come.  Thomas  0.  Larkin,  a  native  of 
Massachusetts,  was  the  first  American  consul 
in  the  country  and  established  himself  at  the 
port  of  Monterey. 

The  Donner  party  was  the  name  given  to 
a  group  of  American  emigrants  that  ventured 
to  cross  the  entire  continent  to  satisfy  their 
anxiety  to  reach  California  during  the  year 
1846.  They  were  very  unfortunate  in  travers- 
ing the  great  western  plateau  and  were  over- 
taken by  winter  when  they  were  still  in  the 
midst  of  the  Sierra  Nevada  range  of  moun- 
tains. They  lost  their  cattle  and  oxen  in  a 
great  and  terrible  snowstorm  and  were  left 
without  food  or  shelter.  They  had  a  terrible 
struggle  against  cold  and  starvation  and  their 
fate  seemed  to  be  sealed.  The  whole  party 
originally  consisted  of  about  86  persons; 
twenty-two  of  the  most  courageous  and  dar- 
ing tried  to  get  through  the  snow  to  Slitters 
Fort,  but  only  seven  reached  there,  all  the 
rest  having  perished.  Expeditions  of  relief 
were  sent  out  one  after  another  from  the  val- 
ley of  Sacramento,  but  were  useless.    The  few 


The  Golden  West 

survivors  of  tin*  Homier  party  were  rescued 
from  their  precarious  situation  only  after  the 
snow  had  melted. 

<  'attain  .Ii'iix   A.  Sitter 

This  individual  was  a  Swiss  who  came  to 
California  and  was  an  employee  of  the  Rus- 
sian settlement  in  Bodega  Bay  in  Marin  coun- 
ty, north  of  San  Francisco,  lie  was  the  well 
known  pioneer  who  first  settled  in  the  north- 
ern pari  of  the  State;  he  was  the  military 
commander  of  that  district  of  the  country  and 
the  owner  of  the  extensive  tract  of  land 
named  New  Helvetia.  It  was  upon  his  rancho 
thai  the  great  gold  discovery  was  made  by 
Marshall  in  the  year  1848. 

Tin:   Beau  Flag 

Ajb  the  presenl  generation  of  California 
cannot  acquire  a  correel  knowledge  of  all  the 
events  thai  occurred  in  their  country  except 
by  history,  and  as  historians  in  many  in- 
stances  pass  unnoticed  many  things  thai  hap- 
pened before  their  time,  or  transform  them 
to  suil  their  fancy,  I  have  made  up  my  mind 
to  write  something  relative  thereto.  My 
readers  perhaps  will  be  pleased  with  the  in- 
formation t  bat  I  take  the  liberty  of  qualifying 
as  interesting. 

In  the  same  manner  that  the  Mexican  gov- 
ernment gave  to  Stephen  F.  Austin  and  Sam 
Houston    an    empresario    grant    to   colonize 


The  Golden  West  83 

Texas  in  the  thirties,  so  also  did  the  Mexican 
government  of  California,  General  Don 
Manuel  Micheltorena,  in  1843  and  1844,  give 
to  all  the  American  immigrants  of  the  Whit- 
man party  who  had  crossed  the  Sierra  Nevada 
range  of  mountains  and  come  into  the  north- 
ern part  of  California  instead  of  going  to 
Oregon,  which  was  their  true  place  of  destina- 
tion. The  Mexican  governor  established  a 
military  post  in  the  Sacramento  valley  at  the 
place  where  the  Americans  had  to  pass  on 
their  way  to  Oregon.  They  put  Sutter  in 
charge  with  orders  to  give  to  many  Ameri- 
cans who  would  ask  for  grants  eleven  square 
leagues  of  land  (48,818  acres),  for  which  he 
had  given  him  blank  grants  duly  signed  by 
him  as  governor  of  the  territory.  I  insert 
herein  a  partial  list  of  some  of  the  Americans 
who  received  land  grants  and  located  in  Cali- 
fornia in  1844  and  1845  instead  of  going  to 
Oregon. 

Josiah  Belden  Barranca,  Colo.  11  sq.  leagues 

J.  Sheldon,  Cosumnes  Eiver        5  " 

W.  Gulnac,  French  Camp         11  " 

W.  Flugge,  Feather  Eiver  5  " 

Ed.  Farwell,  Sac.  Eiver  5  " 

E.  Eidley,  Callayome  6  " 

Fr.  Dye,  Sac.  Eiver  7  " 

W.  Hartnell,  Sac.  Eiver  11  " 

Pearson  B.  Eeading,  Sac.  Eiver  6  " 

Joel  Dedmond,  Sac.  Eiver  6  " 

W.  Chard,  Sac.  Eiver  4  " 


84  The  Golden  West 

Thomas  ().  Larkin,  Sac.  River  10  sq.  leagues 

John  Bidwell,  Sac  River             7  "  " 

Charles  R.  Wilson,  Sac.  River    5  "  " 

John  A.  Sutter,  New  Helvetia    11  "  " 
\Y.  Leidersdorf,  Americas 

River                                        8  "  " 

with  many  others. 

As  time  went  on  things  began  to  get  worse. 
The  .Mexican  government  was  deposed  and 
the  country  was  in  revolution  between  Castro, 
Alvarado,  Yallejo  and  Pico.  Micheltorena 
was  taken  prisoner  and  shipped  on  a  sailing 
vessel  at  San  Pedro  and  sent  back  to  Mexico. 

The  American  settlers  in  the  north  became 
greatly  alarmed  at  the  condition  of  things 
and  realized  that  the  country  would  have  to 
follow  the  same  example  as  Texas.  They 
therefore  assembled  on  a  certain  day  near 
Sonoma  and  \V.  B.  [de  issued  a  proclamation 
protesting  against  the  arbitrary  acts  of  the 
aew  Governor  Pio  Pico  and  declared  the  ter- 
ritory of  California  tree  and  independent. 
They  raised  a  white  flag  made  out  of  common 
sheeting  with  the  picture  of  as  enormous  bear 
tinged  with  berry  juice  thereon.  All  the 
Americans  including  some  of  the  Fremont 
party  inarched  to  the  military  pest  of  Sonoma 
and  after  some  skirmishes  took  the  place  and 
captured  General  Mariano  Guadalupe  Valle- 
jo,  who  was  the  military  commander  of  the 

phc 


The  Golden  West  85 

General  Don  Jose  Castro  who  had  come  to 
the  rescue  and  was  stationed  at  Santa  Clara 
from  the  opposite  shore  of  San  Pablo  bay, 
shipped  his  soldiers  across  in  boats.  The 
first  boat  contained  Jose  Reyes  Berreyesa 
and  the  two  De  Haro  brothers,  who,  on  reach- 
ing the  opposite  shore,  were  killed  by  the 
Americans  that  were  waiting  for  them  to 
land.  That  occurrence  pnt  an  end  to  further 
hostilities  and  thus  ended  the  first  attempt 
to  make  California  the  only  Bear  State  of 
the  American  Union,  as  in  a  short  time  there- 
after the  stars  and  stripes  were  floating 
triumphant  over  the  government  building  at 
Monterey,  the  then  capital  of  the  territory. 

John  C.  Fremont 

This  distinguished  person  was  born  in 
Georgia  in  the  year  1813  and  was  educated 
as  an  engineer;  he  was  commissioned  in  the 
United  States  army  and  employed  in  1842  to 
explore  the  passes  of  the  Rocky  mountains 
for  the  purpose  of  finding  an  overland  route 
to  the  Pacific  ocean.  His  first  explorations 
were  made  in  the  region  of  the  great  Salt 
Lake  in  Utah,  entering  California  through  the 
Sierras  at  the  headwaters  of  the  American 
river  in  the  winter  of  1843-1844.  Upon  his 
return  with  the  result  of  his  important  work 
he  was  again  sent  to  California  in  1845  to  ex- 
plore more  thoroughly  the  region  along  the 
coast.     Fremont  reached  Sutters  Fort  with 


86  The  Golden  West 

aboul  60  of  liis  men  in  the  year  1846  and  ob- 
tains! permission  from  General  Jose  Castro, 
who  was  Mcxi.-an  military  commander  sta- 
tioned at  the  mission  of  Santa  Clara,  to  make 
explorations  in  the  San  Joaquin  valley.  This 
permil  was  Immediately  revoked  and  Fre- 
mont expecting  an  attack  turned  northward 
toward  Oregon. 

Rare  document  to  the  commander  of  the 
American  Corvett  Portsmouth  in  San  Fran- 
cisco  Bay. 

Mn  1 1  \c\   Headquarters  of  Upper  California 

The  undersigned  commandant  general  of 
the  department,  having  been  credibly  in- 
formed thai  the  boats  of  the  American  ship 
of  war,  Portsmouth,  now  at  anchor  in  the 
harbor  of  San  Francisco,  navigate  in  said  bay 
armed  for  the  purpose  of  searching  and  ex- 
amining all  other  ships  or  crafts  that  sail 
therein.  As  in  the  opinion  of  the  under- 
signed the  mentioned  ship,  even  as  a  war  ves- 
sel, cannot  legally  perform  such  acts  in  a 
part  that  belongs  to  the  Mexican  nation: — 
lie  now  addresses  this  communication  to  you 
as  commander  of  the  said  American  vessel 
in  order  that  you  will  be  pleased  to  inform 
me  by  what  right  and  for  what  purpose  you 
have  adopted  such  measures.  I  am  anxious 
to  receive  an  answer  to  my  inquiry  in  order 
that   1   may  be  enabled  to  act  in  conformity 


The  Golden  West  87 

with  the  strict  orders  that  I  hold  from  my 
government. 

The  undersigned  has  the  honor  to  reiter- 
ate to  the  commandant  of  said  war  vessel  the 
assurance  of  his  regard  and  proper  consid- 
eration. 

Chief  Military  Post  at  Santa  Clara,  June  23, 
1846.  God  and  Liberty, 

Jose  Castro 

After  the  foregoing  document  was  sent  to 
the  captain  of  the  Portsmouth,  Castro  with- 
drew from  Santa  Clara  and  Monterey  and 
joined  Governor  Pico  in  Los  Angeles.  Fre- 
mont joined  Sloat  at  Monterey. 

Captain  John  B.  Montgomery  was  com- 
mander of  the  Portsmouth  at  San  Francisco 
and  on  the  23rd  of  July,  Sloat  gave  up  his 
command  to  Commodore  Stockton. 

Stockton  and  Fremont  began  military 
operations  on  the  assumed  ground  that  Amer- 
icans in  California  needed  protection  from 
the  forces  of  Castro.  Moving  south  they  en- 
tered Los  Angeles  without  resistance.  Pico 
and  Castro  lost  all  hope  and  left  for  Mexico. 

Then  came  a  proclamation  from  Stockton 
declaring  the  country  the  property  of  the 
United  States  and  military  officers  were  sta- 
tioned nearly  in  every  town. 

Thus  ended  Mexican  rule  in  the  now  great 
State  of  California. 


88  The  Golden  West 

STerba  Buena,  July  16,  L846. 
Sir: 

I  have  the  honor  to  inform  you  thai  a 
native  of  this  country,  Vicente  Peralta,  by 
name,  a  very  worthy  quiel  person  and  man 
of  property,  was,  previous  to  your  occupation 
of  this  port  in  the  name  of  the  United  States 
government,  taken  prisoner  cither  at  New 
Helvetia  or  on  his  return  from  thai  place 
(whither  he  had  gone  for  the  purpose  of  seek- 
ing  Indian  labourers  for  getting  in  his  crops) 
and  has  been  retained  until  the  preseni  time, 
to  the  great  sorrow  of  his  friends  and  rela- 
tive-, and  more  especially  his  disconsolate 
wife,  who  lies  ill  and  in  a  very  precarious 
state  in  consequence  of  the  frighl  she  received 
on  learning  of  the  misfortune  of  her  husband. 

The  individual  alluded  to  has  never  been 
engaged  in  revolutionary  movements  of  any 
kind  but,  on  the  contrary,  has  always  been  a 
Law  abiding  citizen  and  has  now  lost  by  ('astro 
more  than  one  thousand  dollars  worth  of  fine 
Inn- 

I  take  leave  to  requesl  thai  yon  will  be 
pleased  to  accept  my  responsibility,  both  in 
person  and  property,  for  the  Liberty  of  the 
said  Don  Vicente  Peralta,  and  should  you  re- 
quire it.  |  will  give  my  bond  for  his  neu- 
i ralit \  and  good  conduct. 

Should  my  proposition  accord  with  your 
views,  permit  me  Sir  to  hope  that  i  may  be 
enabled  to  -end  for  Peralta,  either  by  land  or 


The  Golden  West  89 

water,  for  which  purpose  I  shall  require  your 
safe  conduct,  four  persons,  with  an  order  for 
his  liberation. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be 

Yours  most  respectfully, 
(Signed)     J.  Alexander  Forbes, 

H.  B.  V.  Consul. 

To  Capt.  John  B.  Montgomery, 
U.  S.  Corvett  Portsmouth 
Yerba  Buena. 


(COPY) 

B.  V.  C.  Santa  Clara  3rd  Jany.  1847. 
Sir: 

I  have  the  honor  to  inform  you  that  I  was 
solicited  this  morning  by  Capt.  Marston  of 
the  U.  S.  ship  Savannah  to  accompany  him 
under  a  flag  of  truce  to  the  California  party, 
with  which  he  had  an  engagement  yesterday 
and  whose  commander  sent  in  a  request  on 
the  same  evening  to  that  effect. 

The  result  of  the  conference  will  of  course 
be  communicated  to  you  by  Capt.  Marston, 
but  I  consider  it  a  duty  I  owe  to  the  confidence 
reposed  in  me  by  the  Californians,  as  well  as 
in  the  fulfilment  of  my  social  relations,  to  use 
every  honorable  exertion  towards  the  welfare 
of  these  people. 

I  take  pleasure  in  flattering  myself  that 


90  The  Golden  West 

my  constant  assurances  to  these  people  that 
although  their  country  lias  been  occupied  by 
the  stem  laws  of  war,  yet  their  individual 
rights  and  property  will  lie  respected  by  the 
United  States  forces  will  now  be  proved  to 
them  to  be  the  Bentiments  that  animate  all 
ih«'  regular  officers  of  the  United  states 
service. 

I  am  happy  to  say  to  you  that  Lieut.  Bart- 
letl  of  the  U.  S.  Ship  Portsmouth  lias  been 
delivered  up  to  me  as  my  guest  pending  the 
armistice. 

1  have  the  honor  to  be 

Fours  most  respectfully. 

J.  A.  Forbes, 
B.  V.  Consul. 

Ajiebican   Militaky  G-ovebnobs 

Commodore  John  D.  Sloat,  in  1846. 

'. '••iimiodore  Robert  F.  Stockton,  in  1S40- 
L847. 

Colonel  John  C.  Fremont,  General 
Stephen  (>.  Kearny, in  1847. 

Colonel  Richard  B.  Mason,  in  1847-1849. 

General   lieimH   Kih-y.  in   1N4!>. 

Without  any  regular  <-iviI  governmenl 
and  a  disagreement  between  the  military 
chiefs  of  the  aewly  conquered  country,  each 

"lie    <lid   what    he    pleased    and    took    what- 


The  Golden  West  91 

ever  suited  his  fancy.  In  said  condition  of 
tilings  the  new  commanders  had  perplexing 
questions  to  decide,  at  the  same  time  that 
solid  work  was  being  carried  on  and  a  good 
foundation  laid  for  self-government. 

The  small  town  or  village  of  Yerba  Buena, 
which  according  to  the  census  of  1847,  con- 
tained only  459  persons,  was  given  its  historic 
name  of  San  Francisco.  The  little  cluster  of 
houses  were  located  around  the  beautiful 
curving  beach  of  Yerba  Buena  Cove  with 
Telegraph  Hill  looming  up  on  the  north  side 
and  Eincon  Hill  on  the  south. 

After  the  Bear  Flag  incident  the  Califor- 
nians  became  alarmed  and  suspicious.  Gue- 
rilla warfare  was  imminent,  but  was  pre- 
vented by  the  news  that  hostilities  had  com- 
menced between  Mexico  and  the  United 
States.  Commodore  Sloat,  commanding  the 
fleet  in  the  Pacific,  was  ordered  to  gam  pos- 
session of  all  the  ports.  Accordingly  he  ar- 
rived at  Monterey,  San  Francisco,  in  1847  •o-* 

The  municipal  government  of  the  new 
town  had  fallen  into  the  hands  of  bad  men. 
The  ruffian  element  became  uncontrollable.  A 
band  of  the  most  lawless  called  themselves 
''the  hounds"  and  committed  all  sorts  of 
criminal  acts  by  open  violence,  robbing  whom 
they  pleased.  This  state  of  things  caused 
the  organization  of  the  Vigilance  Committee 
in  the  year  1851. 


92 


The  Golden  West 


I'll  IK    I  1.    I  >  I  IINKTT 


The  above  picture  represents  the  first 
American  Governor  of  the  State  of  Cali- 
fornia. 

It  was  mi  the  firsl  day  of  the  month  of 
September,  1 849,  when  the  firsl  ( '(institutional 
Convention  met  or  assembled  at  Monterey, 
tin-  majority  of  the  menil.ers  being  persons 
who  had  been  residents  of  Calif ornia  previous 
to  1  he  gold  discovery. 

Eere  follows  a  list  of  all  the  American 
Governors  thai  served  in  said  capacity  from 
the  year  L850  to  L887: 


The  Golden  West  93 

Peter  H.  Burnett  1849  to  1851 

John  McDougall  1851  "   1852 

JohnBigler  1852  "   1856 

J.  Neely  Johnson  1856  "   1858 

JohnB.  Weller  1858  "   1860 

Milton  S.  Latham  1860  "   1860 

John  G.  Downey  1860  "   1862 

Leland  Stanford  1862  "   1863 

Frederick  F.  Low  1863  "   1867 

Henry  H.  Haight  1867  "   1871 

Newton  Booth  1871  "   1875 

Romnaldo  Pacheco  1875  "   1875 

William  Irwin  1875  "   1880 

George  C.  Perkins  1880  "  1883 

George  Stoneman  1883  "   1887 

Washington  Bartlett  1887  "  

Robert  W.  Waterman  1887  '. '   1895 

H.  H.  Markham  1895  '  <   1899 

James  H.  Budd  1899  "   1903 

Henry  T.  Gage  1903  "   1907 

George  C.  Pardee  1907  "   1911 

James  N.  Gillett  1911  "  1915 

Hiram  Johnson  1915  "   1918    - 

William  D.  Stephens  1918  "   1922 

The  above  picture  represents  the  founder 
of  the  well  known  institution  at  Palo  Alto,  in 
Santa  Clara  County,  and  is  known  by  the 
name  of  The  Leland  Stanford,  Jr.,  Uni- 
versity. 


94 


The  Golden  West 


Lklai 


The  election  of  buildings  for  the  most 
richly  endowed  university  in  the  world  by  a 
single  gifl  is  dow  in  1888  going  on.  The  gift 
was  made  in  1 S85  by  one  of  California's  for- 
mer worthy  Governors,  Leland  Stanford,  and 
big  wife,  .lane  Latlin»|>  Stanford,  in  memory 
of  their  only  son,  Leland  Stanford,  Junior, 
who  died  on  March  L3th,  1884.  The  endow- 
ment consists  of  83,200  acres  of  highly  im- 
proved land,  valued  al  $20,000,000,  and  the 
managemenl  ie  rested  In  a  hoard  of  twenty- 
four  trustees.  The  university  is  to  be  open 
to  young  men  and  to  young  women  alike. 


The  Golden  West  95 

The  City  of  Los  Angeles 

The  flourishing  center  of  trade  with  a 
population  of  more  than  half  a  million  is 
the  same  place  where  the  original  Spanish 
Pueblo  was  founded  on  the  5th  of  September, 
1781,  by  order  of  the  Spanish  Governor  Don 
Felipe  de  Neve  on  the  same  site  where  the 
ancient  Indian  village  of  Yang-na  stood  in 
primitive  ages. 

In  conformity  with  the  requirements  of 
the  Royal  Regulation  issued  by  the  King  of 
Spain  for  founding  new  missionary  establish- 
ments and  pueblos  of  white  people  (gente  de 
razon)  Governor  de  Neve  issued  a  proclama- 
tion on  the  20th  of  August,  1781,  at  the  mis- 
sion of  San  Gabriel  (de  los  Temblores)  of 
the  earthquakes  setting  apart  a  tract  of  land 
about  eight  miles  west  of  said  mission  and 
on  the  banks  of  a  stream  known  by  the  name 
of  Porciuncula,  which  is  the  actual  river  of 
Los  Angeles.  The  waters  of  said  river  were 
for  the  use  of  the  following  retired  soldiers 
and  their  families,  to-wit:  Villavicencio, 
Rodriquez,  with  their  families ;  Quintero, 
Camero,  Moreno  and  Rosas,  each  of  them 
with  their  respective  families;  Navarro, 
Mesa,  Vanegas  and  Lara. 

These  twelve  soldiers  with  their  respective 
families,  which  in  all  numbered  forty-six  (46) 
persons,  were  given  formal  possession  of 
the  same  locality  where  the  present  City  of 


The  Golden  West  97 

Los  Angeles  now  stands,  they  being  the 
original  founders  of  the  primitive  pueblo  of 
white  people  (gente  de  razon),  whereby  they 
became  entitled  to  four  square  leagues  of  land 
around  the  town  itself  as  commons  (ejidos), 
as  required  by  the  mentioned  Eegulations. 
Of  the  twelve  soldiers  only  two  were  natives 
of  Spain,  one  was  a  native  of  China  and  nine 
were  natives  of  some  of  the  Spanish  prov- 
inces which  afterwards  became  States  of 
Mexico. 

Perhaps  it  would  be  proper  to  mention 
the  fact  that  only  three  pueblos  were  founded 
in  conformity  with  the  said  regulation  in  the 
internal  provinces  of  the  West,  which  were 
Sonora,  Sinaloa  and  California.  In  Sonora 
was  founded  that  of  Pitis,  which  today  is 
Hermosillo,  the  capital  of  that  state,  and  in 
California  two,  that  of  San  Jose  in  Santa 
Clara  County  and  that  of  Our  Lady  of  the 
Angels  (Nuestra  Senora  de  Los  Angeles) 
which  is  the  present  city. 

The  Governor  gave  to  each  of  the  soldiers 
1  yoke  of  oxen,  two  mules,  two  mares,  two 
head  of  sheep,  two  goats  and  one  jackass,  with 
all  the  necessary  tools  with  which  to  build 
their  houses  and  cultivate  their  land.  The 
small  settlement  was  made  around  the  same 
small  square  that  is  known  today  as  the 
ancient  Plaza  in  the  city.  The  number  of 
adobe  houses  built  on  three  sides  of  the  said 
square  were  twelve. 


98  'I' i ie  Golden  West 

The  size  of  the  plaza  was  one  hundred 
\ar;i-  long  by  seventy-five  varas  wide.  The 
settlers  wen-  only  allowed  to  build  on  three 
sides,  reserving  the  fourth  for  a  church  and 
other  public  buildings.  The  church  was  built 
on  the  said  plaza  in  the  same  year,  but  was 
dedicated  as  an  addition  to  the  Mission  of 
San  Gabriel  in  the  month  of  December,  1822. 
There  wore  thirty  holds  or  tracts  of  land 
measured  out,  200  varas  square  each,  called 
suertes,  and  two  given  to  each  soldier,  who 
knew  very  little  about  farming,  according  to 

tl pinion  of  Don  Jose  de  la  Guerra  y  Nori- 

ega,  who  was  the  commissioner  for  the  said 
pueblo  in  the  year  1S1  \  and  in  his  report  to 
the  governor  be  says  that  the  pueblo  has  not 
prospered  very  much,  although  it  had  already 
been  in  existence  35  years. 


The  following  is  an  extract  from  his  re- 


pori  : 


■- 


With  only  !»4  inhabitants  who  compose  all 
of  the  people  in  said  pueblo,  as  shown  in  the 
foregoing  list,  the  greater  number  of  their 
tracts  are  cultivated  by  them  in  a  very  poor 
way.  Their  plantations  arc  very  small  and 
they  change  about  Prom  one  to  another  to 
suil  their  fancy.  Such  tracts  as  are  marked 
herein  as  vineyards  arc  so  in  reality,  but  such 
as  are  designated  as  some  have  not  even  one 
frail    tree.     'The   inhabitants   of  the   pueblo 


The  Golden  West  99 

spend  most  of  the  time  in  the  neighboring 
mission  of  San  Gabriel. 

Santa  Barbara,  April  2,  1816. 
(Signed)     Jose  de  la  Guerra  y  Noriega. 

The  original  settlers  did  not  prove  to  be 
good  farmers  and  they  did  not  make  any  ef- 
fort to  do  anything  for  their  own  good, 
although  the  Governor  had  selected  for  them 
the  most  beautiful  location  for  them  to  have 
perpetual  and  abundant  crops.  They  spent- 
most  of  their  time  in  fiestas  (feasts)  and  bull 
rights. 

It  was  in  the  fifties  when  I  first  visited 
the  above  ancient  pueblo.  I  came  overland 
and  on  horseback  and  was  on  the  road  as 
many  as  sixteen  days,  from  San  Jose  in  Santa 
Clara  county  by  way  of  the  Pacheco  Moun- 
tains in  San  Benito  county,  having  passed 
over  by  what  was  then  no  more  than  a  desert 
and  now  contains  the  flourishing  cities  of  Ma- 
dera, Merced,  Fresno,  Bakersfield,  etc. 

Upon  niy  arrival  in  Los  Angeles  I  don't 
believe  that  the  population  of  the  town  was  as 
many  as  one  thousand  persons. 

After  California  became  a  State  by  act  of 
the  legislature  a  law  was  passed  creating  the 
county  of  Los  Angeles,  which  embraced  all  of 
San  Bernardino,  Riverside  and  Orange  coun- 
ties of  today  with  a  large  part  of  the  Mohave 
desert  and  the  greatest  portion  of  Kern 
county. 


100  The  Golden  W] 

e  boundaries  of  Los  Angeles  county  were 
changed  Beveral  times  and  many  segregations 
were  made. 

The  largest  land  grants  were  those  made 
in  Los  Angeles  county  by  Governor  Don 
Pedro  Fajes  in  the  year  M$/  to  retired  sol- 
diers for  meritorious  services.  Santa  Gei 
trudis  (alias)  So  be  in,  to  Manuel  Perez  Nie- 
tolly  with  tin'  following  boundaries:  In  the 
Los  Angeles  valley  and  bounded  »>n  the  north 
by  the  small  range  of  hills  of  San  Gabriel,  on 
the  south  by  the  Pacific  ocean,  on  the  east  by 
tin-  San  Gabriel  river  to  its  mouth  and  <>n  the 
west  by  the  Santa  Ana  river  to  its  month,  ag 

gating  when  confirmed  as  many  as  L90 
-  of  Land.    The  -rant  was  afterwards  par 
titioned  off  to  the  Beveral  heirs  of  Nfieto  by 

ernor  Don  Jose  Figueroa  in  the  year  I  - 

!    came    the    well    known    San     P 

Rancho  granted  to  Juan  Jose  and  <  Jhristobal 
Dominquez,  which  embraced  the  rest  of  the 
valley  between  the  San  Gabriel  river  and  the 
pueblo  lands  reaching  up  to  and  aear  the  low 
range  <»!*  hills  between  the  valley  proper  and 
the  port  of  Wilmington.  This  -rant  was 
dmately  for  twenty  Beven  Leagues  or  llv. 

Santa    Ana.   -rallied   on   the   12th  <>f  OctO- 
17-1.  lo  .1,,.,.  Antonio  Xorba  and  to  Pablo 
alva  for  more  than  fifteen  square  Leagues 
of  land  or  66,970  acres. 

The  land-  of  the  ex  mission  of  San    Fei 


The  Golden  West  101 

nando  were  granted  to  Andres  Pico  and  to 
Eulogio  de  Celis,  a  Spanish  merchant  to 
whom  the  mission  padres  owed  a  large  sum  of 
money  for  supplies  to  the  mission  during  the 
date  of  its  existence. 

First  Gold  Discovery  in  California 

Gold  was  first  discovered  in  Los  Angeles 
County  in  1843  and  not  in  Coloma  by  Mar- 
shall in  1848  as  has  been  generally  supposed. 
The  discovery  was  made  by  one  of  the  many 
vaqueros  (rough-riders)  of  the  Rancho  de 
Piru  that  belonged  to  Don  Carlos  Antonio 
Carrillo  of  Santa  Barbara  and  adjoined  the 
Rancho  of  Don  Ygnacio  del  Valle  of  Los  An- 
geles. It  seems  that  said  vaquero,  whose 
name  was  Francisco  Lopez,  was  looking  for 
some  stray  horses  of  the  rancho  and  while 
silting  at  noon  under  the  shade  of  a  tree  com- 
menced to  pull  up  some  wild  onions  (caco- 
mites)  to  take  to  his  house  on  the  rancho, 
found  some  particles  of  gold  in  the  roots 
1  hereof.  He  was  greatly  surprised  and  com 
menced  to  gather  all  he  could  find.  He  went 
to  Santa  Barbara  and  informed  the  owner, 
Mr.  Carrillo,  who  immediately  came  to  the 
place  with  several  of  his  friends  and  found 
some  gold  also.  The  news  of  the  discover) 
spread  like  wildfire  even  in  the  pueblos  of 
Los  Angeles  and  Don  STgnacio  del  Valle  went 
to  the  gold  fields  also,  together  with  many 
others  of  his  friends  from  this  city  and  in  a 


102  The  Golden  West 

few  weeks  there  were  many  hundreds  of  peo- 
ple engaged  in  washing  the  entire  surface  of 
the  newly  discovered  auriferous  ground. 

Don  Santiago  Arguello  in  San  Diego,  who 
was  Prefect  of  the  First  District  of  the  Terri- 
tory, was  notified  of  the  new  discovery  and 
came  to  this  city  and  appointed  the  necessary 
local  authorities  for  the  ahove  named  mining 
camp.  All  of  the  above  facts  appear  of  record 
in  tli«'  Mexican  Archives  of  the  country  in 
Book  of  Prefections,  Vol.  Ill,  during  the  year 
is4::. 

The  work  of  explorations  for  gold  in  this 
locality  continued  for  a  long  time  and  even 
until  the  year  1848,  when  the  great  bonanza 
of  the  precious  metal  was  found  by  Mr.  Mar- 
shall at  Coloma  in  the  northern  pari  of  tins 
state. 

.1.  J.  Warner  tells  us  that  he  was  sent  to 
the  said  gold  fields  of  Southern  California  in 
the  month  of  March,  L843,  by  the  well  known 
pioneer  of  Los  Angeles  Don  A-bel  Stearns  to 
buy  some  of  the  Pirn  gold  and  succeeded  in 
getting  as  much  as  1"  ounces,  which  Mr. 
Stearns  senl  to  the  U.  S.  Mini  al  Philadelphia 
where  it  was  round  to  be  of  the  besl  quality 
of  placer  gold  according  to  the  following 
memoranda : 

Memorandum  of  gold  bullion  deposited  on 
the  8th  of  July,  L843,  in  the  Qnited  States 
Mini  by  Granl  &  Stone,  as  agents,  in  Phila- 


The  Golden  West  103 

delphia.    Receipt  and  value  of  the  placer  gold 
was  as  follows: 

Before  melting  18.34  ounces 

After  melting  18.01       " 

Fineness  926.         1000 

Value  $344.75 

Deducting  expenses  in  sending  to  Phila- 
delphia and  agency  $4.02.  Net  value  of  the 
gold  after  melting  $340.73,  which  Mr.  Alfred 
Robinson  sent  to  the  brother  of  Mr.  Stearns 
as  per  his  instructions  according  to  a  letter 
sent  to  Mr.  Stearns  from  New  York  on  the 
6th  of  August,  1843. 

The  original  deposit  of  said  placer  gold 
exists  now  among  the  records  of  the  Society 
of  California  Pioneers  in  San  Francisco. 

After  the  great  discovery  of  Marshall  all 
or  nearly  all  of  the  gambucinos  of  El  P(ru 
abandoned  their  camps  and  left  for  Sacra- 
mento and  Sutter  counties,  where  they  could 
gather  the  gold  by  the  shovel  full  and  where, 
as  they  were  informed,  the  precious  metal 
was  plentiful. 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA   LIBRARY 

Los  Angeles 

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